Gadkari out as BJP blends caste & diversity

The recent rejig of the Parliamentary Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party bears the stamp of assertion by the two supreme leaders in that they have chosen fawning favourites and chopped off the potential challengers to the supreme authority within the party. Yet, in doing this, they have shown uncanny sensitivity in imparting the body a look that bears balance in terms of geography as well as social composition.

 The removal of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, someone close to Nagpur, the headquarters of he RSS, unmistakably signals the design to keep out the malcontents. His ‘Sattakaran being a 24-hour power play’ remark was not taken kindly by the topmost leader. A similar message is latent in leaving out Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose second tenure in the hot seat in the largest state has begun to acquire some semblance of a challenge to the supremacy of the duo. Inclusion of Sarbanand Sonowal from Assam should be interpreted as a sort of note of caution for Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. But it is equally a pointer to the new importance the BJP attaches to the North East where its sway has been consolidated all across the eight states. Besides, Sonowal also represent the Tribals who constitute a big chunk of population in the region. Same is the message for Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister who should consider his inclusion in the party’s central election committee as a hint to remain content with what has come to him as a windfall due to change of government in the State.

 By taking in Karnataka party strongman B.S. Yediyurappa the party has tried to mollify him as the State is heading for the Assembly election in less than nine months. He had been sulking follow[1]ing his easing out of the top office a year ago and is further hurt by the denial of a Legislative Council ticket for his son. Though his protégé Basavaraj Bommai has succeeded him, the party knows too well the cost of annoying the tall leader who is the the major icon of the Lingayat community. Besides Yediyurappa, Karnataka has another representative Mr B.L. Santosh, the organizing secretary of the BJP at the national level. Representation of two from the state points to the measure of importance the party attaches to the State, the only to have a BJP Government among the five principal states of the South. Choice of a Sikh leader from Punjab, Iqbal Singh Lalpura indicates the party’s keenness to emerge as a factor in the Sikh-dominant state on its own, given the bleak prospect of an alliance with the much weakened Shiromani Akali Dal.

A notable new entrant is Sudha Yadav, an OBC face on the Board who had been an MP from Haryana and holds a degree from IIT-Roorkee. Being the only woman member, Sudha’s choice befits the requirement for the State which will be having Assembly election alongside the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Overall the 15-member BJP Parliamentary Board represents a harmonious blend of diversity and contextual urges for the party.

Gadkari out as BJP blends caste & diversity

The recent rejig of the Parliamentary Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party bears the stamp of assertion by the two supreme leaders in that they have chosen fawning favourites and chopped off the potential challengers to the supreme authority within the party. Yet, in doing this, they have shown uncanny sensitivity in imparting the body a look that bears balance in terms of geography as well as social composition.

 The removal of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, someone close to Nagpur, the headquarters of he RSS, unmistakably signals the design to keep out the malcontents. His ‘Sattakaran being a 24-hour power play’ remark was not taken kindly by the topmost leader. A similar message is latent in leaving out Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose second tenure in the hot seat in the largest state has begun to acquire some semblance of a challenge to the supremacy of the duo. Inclusion of Sarbanand Sonowal from Assam should be interpreted as a sort of note of caution for Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. But it is equally a pointer to the new importance the BJP attaches to the North East where its sway has been consolidated all across the eight states. Besides, Sonowal also represent the Tribals who constitute a big chunk of population in the region. Same is the message for Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister who should consider his inclusion in the party’s central election committee as a hint to remain content with what has come to him as a windfall due to change of government in the State.

 By taking in Karnataka party strongman B.S. Yediyurappa the party has tried to mollify him as the State is heading for the Assembly election in less than nine months. He had been sulking follow[1]ing his easing out of the top office